March Madness 2015: Tournament Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Bubble Teams

Arguing over the final few bids to March Madness is almost like arguing politics because it's hard to get someone else to see your side. However, the selection committee will have the final say over each spot in the NCAA tournament on March 15.

For the teams with questionable resumes to this point of the season, time is running out to add quality wins to the resume. Things can still change, but we can predict the final few spots in the Big Dance based on what we have seen as well as examining the upcoming schedule.

Here is a look at the squads likely to be among the most debated over the next week and a half and predictions for whether they finish in or out of the tournament.

Round	Date
First Round	March 17-18
Second Round (Round of 64)	March 19-20
Third Round (Round of 32)	March 21-22
Sweet 16	March 26-27
Elite Eight	March 28-29
Final Four	April 4
National Championship	April 6

In

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Boise State: While Boise State has dealt with various injuries throughout the year, the team is coming together at the right time with 12 wins in their last 13 games. This stretch includes a win over Colorado State and sweeps of San Diego State and UNLV.

Although the typical college basketball fan doesn't know much about it, you should not overlook how hard it is to earn wins at San Diego State, UNLV or even Saint Mary's. This overall profile and the recent success should get the Broncos into the tournament.

BYU: Does one win really change a resume that much? Absolutely. BYU was considered on the outside looking in due to eight losses by an average of 4.8 points (none by double digits) as well as no quality wins. However, one game change everything, as noted by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports:

The Cougars still have a few questionable losses, but they are rated No. 26 in the nation at KenPom.com and have proved capable of beating a great team. 

Cincinnati: This will be a tough argument for the committee depending on what each person values. Five wins over projected tournament teams, including a sweep of SMU, will go a long way. The question is whether this is enough to overlook terrible losses to East Carolina and Tulane.

A lot of it will come down to Wednesday's matchup against Tulsa. A win would likely put the Bearcats in great position heading into the conference tournaments.

Indiana: Iowa is now safe after beating Indiana, but the Hoosiers are in a dangerous spot after a poor end to the regular season. They haven't won consecutive games since Jan. 22.

That being said, Tom Crean's squad still has enough quality wins to stay in the field, even if it ends up being in the first set of games in Dayton.

North Carolina State: After a potentially damaging loss against Boston College, North Carolina State bounced back with a road win over Clemson. Although it was too close for comfort, the Wolfpack pulled out the victory to stay on the right side of the bubble.

With wins over Duke, Louisville and North Carolina, the latter two coming on the road, this team has shown more than enough to warrant a bid to the tournament.

Oregon: Although how a team ends a season is no longer officially examined by the selection committee, it's hard not to be impressed by Oregon winning eight of its last nine games in a competitive Pac-12.

The Ducks only have one RPI Top 50 win (Utah), but victories over fellow bubble teams like UCLA, Stanford and Illinois will help. If Joseph Young gets into the tournament, you also probably don't want to bet against him.

Purdue: Conference standings don't necessarily mean much to the selection committee, but it's hard to ignore how well Purdue has played in the Big Ten, a conference that could get as many as eight teams in the field.

With an 11-5 record in conference and plenty of wins over fellow bubble teams like Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa, we can probably look past December losses to Gardner Webb and North Florida.

Texas: While Texas was likely outside the NCAA tournament picture as of last week, the win over Baylor will make a big difference to their profile. All of a sudden the team that couldn't beat anyone good now has two quality victories to go along with a blowout win over West Virginia.

Everyone knows how difficult the Big 12 has been this year, so assuming the Longhorns can beat Kansas State and possibly get one more win in the conference tournament, a bid should be secure.

Texas A&M: A loss to Florida will raise question marks for this team, but Texas A&M should be just fine even without great wins. The squad has been one of the more consistent teams in the SEC all season, and gave Kentucky as much of a fight as anyone else this season before losing in double overtime.

Still, the Aggies better hope LSU keeps winning to ensure those two wins remain noteworthy.

Tulsa: Despite a 14-2 record and a first-place standing in the American Athletic Conference, Tulsa's bid is far from secure. The squad did very little out of conference and hasn't exactly racked up great wins within the league.

On the plus side, the Golden Hurricane can still prove themselves in their final two games against Cincinnati and SMU. A sweep in these games will make them a lock, while even one win will put the squad in good shape.

Out

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Colorado State: A No. 26 RPI ranking might be difficult to ignore, especially with wins over Boise State and San Diego State. However, the Mountain West is not quite what it used to be. According to KenPom.com, it is only the 12th-best league in the nation.

Without challenging itself in the nonconference slate, it's hard to be truly impressed by the Rams' overall resume.

Davidson: This is a tough call considering how well Davidson has played at times this year, boasting one of the best offenses in the nation. The Wildcats even impressed in losses, scoring 72 against Virginia and 65 against VCU.

The problem is the team's only RPI Top 50 win came against Dayton, with no other victories even being noteworthy. A win against VCU on Thursday would change that opinion, but that will not be easy.

Head coach Bob McKillop said earlier in the year, via David Scott of the Charlotte Observer, “In the Atlantic 10, getting an at-large bid is mandated by being a middle-of-the-pack team." Unfortunately, a down year might make this a lie.

Illinois: Two very good wins over Baylor and Maryland to go with no terrible losses makes Illinois a quality team going into March. On the other hand, the squad has not been good overall against above-average opponents, going just 9-11 against RPI Top 150 teams.

Add this to mediocre computer numbers, and the Illini could be NIT-bound.

Miami (FL): Aside from an impressive win at Duke, Miami never really took advantage of its opportunities to beat quality opponents. The team can look back at close losses to Louisville, Virginia and Notre Dame and think about what might have been, but the lack of other great wins keeps their overall profile from standing out.

Old Dominion: An 11-5 record in Conference USA would be impressive in some years, but not this one. The league will likely only get one bid for whoever wins the conference tournament, so a third-place finish is nothing to brag about.

There are also inexplicable losses to UT San Antonio, UAB and Middle Tennessee, making sure Old Dominion falls short on its NCAA tournament bid.

Pittsburgh: You can sometimes look past bad losses when you have the wins. The victories over Notre Dame and North Carolina are certainly impressive. Unfortunately, the recent loss to Wake Forest reminded everyone that this is a very inconsistent team capable of struggling against weaker opponents.

With seven double-digit losses and 11 overall, the resume is just not good enough to make the tournament.

Stanford: An early-season win at Texas seemed like gold at the time, but now it ranks as just a decent win over a bubble team. Otherwise, Stanford's best win came against Wofford in the first game of the season.

Unless the Cardinal beat Arizona on the road to close the regular season, it's hard to imagine getting too much love for this profile.

Temple: Of all the bubble teams, Temple probably has the best single win: A 25-point rout of Kansas. The problem is their only other victory over a possible NCAA tournament team came against Cincinnati.

After losing by 16 points to Tulsa and not having any more opportunities to prove itself aside from the AAC tournament, Temple appears likely to be on the outside looking in.

UCLA: After losing a number of key players to the NBA last season, a drop-off was expected at UCLA. Few people thought it would be as severe, though, based on the talent still on the roster.

In reality, the biggest problem seems to be inexperience, which has led to awful play away from home. The Bruins are 2-8 on the road and 1-3 in neutral-site games, something that will not convince any committee members to give them a bid.

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